Imperial Arena
The Imperial Arena was a competitive arena in the Imperial City that brought the finest warriors from all around the Jade Empire to test their might and skills in front of large audiences for wealth, renown, and glory. Layout The first floor of the temple held the tables for bets in the Arena fights, as well as a merchandise stand for items pertaining to several fighters competing in the Arena. The first room of the second floor was the Heart of the Empire Tavern. The next two rooms were where several noble class citizens of the Imperial City would watch the Arena fights. They also held a kitchen in the back. A man named Gambler Daoshen held a dice game there. The next room was the competitors' area. Here, the competitors and champions would mingle and wait to participate in matches from Qui the Promoter. Dr. An would be in the area to offer healing and enhancements for competitors. A stairway led down to the Creature Pens, which kept the creatures that could be used for various rounds. The final room was for the higher up competitors and for whoever ran the Arena, as well as a private office to conduct business. Divisions The Arena was divided into four divisions for fighters to compete in, each with a champion: qualifiers, Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each division had different numbers of rounds, depending on the skills of the fighter. For each round won, the fighter received a certain amount of silver and it would increase the further the fighter progressed. After enough rounds were cleared, Qui would arrange a championship match. When fighters became Silver Division Champion, the Lotus Assassins would approach these fighters to swell their ranks, specifically the Executioners. Imperial Champion The ultimate fighter who won his or her way to the top and cleared the Gold Division was given the prestigious honor of being the Imperial Champion. There have been several who have held the title: * Kai Lan the Serpent * Black Whirlwind * Raging Ox/The Ravager * The Last Spirit Monk If a former champion chooses, they can exercise a rematch clause to take on the current Champion. Management The Arena and its betting was run by the society know as the Guild. Kai Lan, a former Arena Champion, retired from fighting and became one of the leading members of the Guild and assumed management of the Arena. His enforcer was Lucky Cho, who would see that Qui ran things smoothly and picked only the best to fight. Qui the Promoter saw to the signing on of new fighters and the fights that went on for each division. He would only deviate or add new fights if Kai Lan or the Guild requested, or if he wanted to help the fighter gain more renown. History The Arena had been an existence for well over five hundred years. This was evidenced in the Pit of Pain still being a round for fighters to go through. The Guild soon became in charge of all the betting that took place in the Arena. Kai Lan the Serpent, a former Arena Champion, became part of the Guild and soon was placed in charge of the Arena. With this kind of authority, the Guild could see that those fighters who questioned them were put in their place. The Empire even turned a blind eye to the Guild's hold by using the fighters to swell the ranks of the Lotus Assassins. The next great fighter was the Black Whirlwind and he soon caught the eye of the Guild and Kai Lan, but Whirlwind refused to become involved. His brother, Raging Ox, became the new champion and entered into Kai Lan's service. Whirlwind could not stand for Kai Lan separating him from his brother and sought to patch things up, though when Kai Lan stepped in, Whirlwind tried to kill him. However, in his drunken rage, Whirlwind instead killed Ox - who got in the way - and Whirlwind fled in his rage and grief. Kai Lan decided to create the ultimate fighter and servant, so he used dark magic to keep Ox alive and stronger and repackaged him as the Ravager, who soon became champion again and asserted Kai Lan's hold over the Arena. Sometime later, the Last Spirit Monk participated in the Arena. The Monk's rapid rise to the top caused considerable grief to Kai Lan, who was trying to assert himself higher in the Guild. He would deliberately change rounds to test or halt the Monk's progress, but the young Monk came out on top and soon challenged the Ravager for the title. Kai Lan relented to the crowd's demands and the Monk defeated the Ravager. When Ravager's identity was revealed, Black Whirlwind killed his brother to put him out of his misery. Kai Lan exercised his right to challenge and he was either taken down by the Monk or Whirlwind. Either way, the Monk was approached by Sweet Poison Lyn, who offered thanks on behalf of the Guild for ending Kai Lan's ambitions, as the higher ups in the Guild did not approve of his deliberate actions to try and gain power. Lyn also declared that the Guild decided to end their participation with the Arena, stating that their alliance with the Lotus Assassins was more trouble than it was worth. Notable Arena fighters *Kai Lan the Serpent (former champion) *Hapless Han *Crimson Khana *Iron Soldier *Sung Sui *Sung Bu *Sung Bo *Ravager *Acolyte Trainer Guang (former fighter) Video Category: Jade Empire Category: Locations